BRANDON – The Let’s Talk Science outreach team at Brandon University (BU) will host a Science Day for children tomorrow at the Brandon Public Library. The science-focused Saturday, also supported by Mini U, is the culmination of Science Literary Week at BU.

Additional space has just been added, and there is still time to register.

“We have an incredibly exciting day planned for children, with short sessions that are hands-on, challenging, and tons of fun,” said Xisra Winder, BU’s Let’s Talk Science Coordinator. “This is a great way to discover just how clever you can be!”

In celebration of Science Literacy Week, a Canada-wide initiative, the Let’s Talk Science outreach will host three 45-minute sessions throughout the day.

The Super Science Challenge is first, from 10–10:45 a.m. Children aged 8–12 will work together in teams to design, create, and test a variety of items as everyday materials are used to solve challenging science and engineering problems.

The second session is called Driving Towards the Future, and runs from 11–11:45 a.m. Kids will learn about the current topic of self-driving cars and then use their learning as a platform to learn about the big ideas behind computational thinking. That includes how to break down a problem into steps, and then how to create a process that can be followed to reach a goal.

After lunch will be the Marshmallow Challenge, which runs from 1–1:45 p.m. In this session, children will work in groups to design and build the tallest building out of spaghetti, string and tape. The challenge is that each building must be able to support a marshmallow placed on the top.

Because some of the challenge involve food items, including an egg drop, parents should inform organizers if there are any food allergies when they are registering their child.

The day will finish up with a longer program called Intro to Video Games. As the name suggests, this program, which runs from 2:30–5 p.m., introduces kids to video game history and design. Intro to Video Games is being put on by WMRL staff, and by Alan Chorney, a tech-savvy librarian from Winnipeg Public Library.

“If you think playing video games is fun and challenging, you should try creating one,” said Danielle Hubbard, WMRL Programming and Outreach Librarian. “It’s easy to get started, using the Scratch programming language, and the possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Scratch is like a gateway into the wider world of game design and serves as an excellent introduction for kids.”

Parents should pre-register their children for any session or sessions of their choice. All are open to children aged 8–12. Registration can be done in person today at the Children’s Services Desk of the Brandon Public Library, in the Town Centre, downtown Brandon, via email to danielle@wmrl.ca, or by phoning the Brandon Public Library at 204-727-6648.